Asset & Wealth Management

Welcome to our December edition of Keeping up with Asset and Wealth Management Tax.

The Investment Firms Regulation (IFR) and the Investment Firms Directive (IFD) are currently in the process of being finalised by the European Parliament. The final publication is expected to be released in September 2019, two and a half years after initial inception by the European Commision. The final rules suggest significant changes to remuneration for many investment management businesses

Our summer FS tax accounting update covered current affairs topics including an update from half year reporting, IFRS 16 and IFRIC 23. If you would like to discuss any of these areas in more detail, please get in touch with any of the contacts listed in the attached slides or your usual PwC contact.

Welcome to Keeping up with Brexit, a special edition newsletter, bringing together our latest analyses of key Brexit issues concerning the Asset and Wealth Management (‘AWM’) industry.

The UK’s delayed departure from the European Union gives asset and wealth managers a potential window of opportunity to finalise their post-Brexit arrangements – but does not change the necessary choices firms must make about how they operate in the future.

What is happening in the coming weeks at a political level? What do the meaningful vote outcomes mean for AWMs? Are AWMs able to rely on Article 50 being cancelled and the Brexit process being halted? What does a ‘no-deal’ Brexit mean for AWMs?

Faced with uncertainty in their business as a result of Brexit, Asset & Wealth Managers (‘AWMs’) should consider the potential impact of the tax drag on their funds’ investments. Have you considered how your fund may be impacted as a result of increased post Brexit tax charges?

What is the Temporary Permissions Regime?When does the Temporary Permissions Regime come into effect? How long will a temporary permission be?

In the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, the UK would become a third country and UK financial services firms would lose their passport rights and access to the single market for financial services. In order for UK firms to rely on third country equivalence provisions in the respective EU acts, certain conditions would need to be met.

PwC’s FS Tax Forum, held in London on 20 November, discussed how financial services businesses must begin to rethink their operating models as tax systems change around them.

PwC’s Tax Forum, held in London on 20 November, discussed how the proliferation of big data, to which tax authorities have increasing access, exposes financial services organisations to new tax risks.

PwC’s FS Tax Forum, held in London on 20 November, considered how the disruption of the financial services industry by new technologies could affect its tax profile. Disruption has become a fact of life for financial services companies, whether in banking, insurance or asset and wealth management.

At PwC’s FS Tax Forum, held in London on 20 November, delegates looked ahead as the pace of change in tax continues to accelerate.

The Meaningful Vote is delayed, but is now still the time for action for Asset and Wealth Managers?

Has the financial services industry reached an inflection point? If the 10 years since the financial crisis could be characterised as the decade of regulation, then the 10 years to come will be the decade of digitalisation. Everywhere you look within financial services, disruption is the order of the day: across the industry, businesses are rethinking their business models – and their core value propositions – as new technologies offer exciting new opportunities and create new threats.

The Chancellor delivered the 2018 Autumn Budget on 29 October 2018. A summary of the key announcements particularly relevant for the asset and wealth management industry is set out here.

PwC’s Asset and Wealth Management (“AWM”) Brexit Conference, held in London on 25 September, considered how asset managers will have to rethink their product ranges in the post-Brexit landscape. We asked ‘what are the challenges and opportunities?’

PwC’s Brexit Conference, held in London on 25 September, discussed the options for asset managers’ corporate structures in the post-Brexit landscape

PwC’s Brexit Conference, held in London on 25 September, discussed the people challenges for asset managers as they prepare for the post-Brexit landscape

It is our pleasure to invite you to our Brexit event on Tuesday 25th September. With only 6 months to go before the date of Britain's exit from the European Union and no immediate clarity on what the post Brexit landscape will look like, this "deep dive" half day session will tackle the practical questions asset managers are currently facing.

PwC’s annual tax conference, held in London in May, considered how asset managers are affected by the OECD’s initiative to tackle tax avoidance, Base Erosion Profit Shifting, and similar regional and local tax initiatives being adopted.

We all know that budgets are stretched, but despite this our clients are still focusing hard on operational taxes. Now more than ever there is significant push/pull to get it right. Interested parties include investors, regulators, accounting authorities, tax authorities and directors.

PwC’s annual tax conference, held in London in May, discussed the tax challenges facing asset managers as they prepare for a post-Brexit environment.

PwC’s annual tax conference, held in London in May, discussed the future for asset and wealth management as the pace of change continues to accelerate – how will the tax function remain relevant?

The flyer highlights what the US tax reforms mean at a practical level for asset manageres. What does it mean for asset manager US operations’ locations; legal form; compensation structures, and debt in US deal structuring? Hopefully our article helps guide you through the changes and this will also be the focus of one of our upcoming conference sessions.

With the end of the tax year having now passed, along with the first of the year-end employer deadlines, we want to take the opportunity to remind you of your remaining obligations and deadlines.

Here are some of the current key topics affecting the industry. Please follow the links for further information or alternatively, feel free to reach out to your PwC contact to discuss in more detail.

The need for Trustees to properly consider the mitigation of tax leakage is now perhaps more pressing than ever before. This hub brings together the current hot topics and tax matters affecting pension schemes and savings products in the UK.

US Tax Reform could give rise to sweeping, complex changes for companies with a US footprint. To help you stay informed, we'll be updating this hub with all the latest comments and analysis as the situation develops.

PwC’s Asset Management Tax Conference saw delegates discuss the increasing pressures on asset managers in response to tax and regulatory requirements and the consequent evolution of the tax function in a modern asset management firm. Their conclusion? The tax function of the future will look very different.

Over the last few years, the transfer pricing and more widely the international tax landscape have seen historic changes that have created significant uncertainty for asset managers. This is due to legislative and regulatory changes as well as the prevailing economic circumstances.

Almost 25 years after the first anti money laundering (AML) regulation introduced financial services companies to the idea they must ‘know your customer’ – the KYC bar has never been higher, both in the UK and globally.

Asset and wealth managers operating across the EU must now begin to implement their plans to respond to the formal triggering of Article 50. Firms are considering possible worst-case scenario outcomes, what that would mean for their business and what no-regrets actions can be prioritised.